Dutch flavor for Jakarta's art lovers

Dutch flavor for Jakarta's art lovers

By Pavan Kapoor

JAKARTA (JP): There is a certain undeniable wave sweeping
through the contemporary art world, especially that of Europe.
Surreal impressionism and symbolic art has seen a number of
artists subdue their pessimistic urges to produce art that
reflects beauty, memory, chosen moments and the special nuances
of life.

One such artist is Karin Bos who is displaying her work in an
exhibition entitled Art and Fascination at Erasmus Huis, Jl.
Rasuna Said, South Jakarta. The exhibition was opened by art
critic and curator Jim Supangkat and will be on from Sept. 7
through Sept. 30.

Karin Bos, a young Dutch painter, studied at the Art Academy
in Amsterdam. Expositions of her work have been held in the
Netherlands, Eindhoven, Leiden and Belgium, among other places.
She has also participated in group shows in Brussels, London, San
Francisco and Chicago.

This is Karin's first visit to Indonesia but before coming to
Jakarta she had exhibited in Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta.

Karin's work contains an irony laced with a touch of humor.
But the theoretical depth of her interpretations reveals itself
in the criticism of certain social norms and art classifications.

Karin stated at the opening of the exhibition that "Art should
not be confined, classified or labeled. I never use the same
technique and constantly use different styles. That is why art is
always intriguing."

Double meaning

Perhaps that is why Karin refers to herself as a "chameleon
artist." There is a bold use of a variety of mediums - ink,
print, oil paint, waterbased color and pencil. There is a range
of canvass sizes to create an intriguing contrast. From 96 small
artworks in the series Ninety-six ways of lying/ninety-six ways
of telling the truth to gigantic oils such as The Carpet Pisser
Tilburg, Karin reveals her love of contrast, contradiction and
double-meaning.

Examples of her work which ask the observer to dwell on the
issue of contradiction are Ninety-six ways of lying/telling the
truth and Appearance/disappearance.

"The figures in my works are mainly lost knights and wandering
heroes. They are symbols of searching but contradictorily the
clues confuse them even more. Just when they think they have
solved a problem, the answer fades away and becomes a new
question," explains Karin.

The 96 series was done in 1997. It deals with the romantic
nature of the way people perceive the painter and is the result
of an exercise to see how many interesting variations can be
created with one single image.

Humor and satire are also integral parts of Karin's work.
Using eroticism in a funny way allows her to be critical without
being too moralistic. Today's themes are camouflaged by
presenting them as history or fairy tales, as can be seen in So
Long, where Shakespearean figures are painted in harmony with a
dollar note.

Personal fantasy

Says Karin, "That's how I tickle the personal fantasy of the
viewer without dictating what they see."

Karin's inspiration comes from her collections of pictures and
stories from various stages of her life. She likes to make notes
and sketches of everything she likes and appreciates from
newspapers, photos, travels, weird stories and personal
experiences. Invariably a carefully stashed note will later
appear as the missing link she was looking for to connect an idea
and transform it into a new piece of art.

The knights on the oval shaped mirrors in Wish Me Luck refer
to the struggle of everyday life and the mirror reflects the
spectator who might identify him/herself with the theme.

Searching for Atlantis is the title of three silk screens,
which were painted in 1998 for an art exchange program between
artists in Amsterdam and California. It is based on various old
maps, which represent the different theories that exist about
Atlantis.

There is no one in Karin's family tree who is an artist except
for her grandfather who loved to buy art books. The grandfather
was not allowed to attend art school due to the existing social
stigmas and taboos of his day and so satisfied himself by buying
and viewing art books. Interesting Pleasing Portraits is an ode
to him.

The museum of anatomy in the Dutch city of Leiden inspired
Karin to paint Shall we become Divine or shall we just marry. The
Siamese twins pictured reminded Karin of twin gods.

Karin's exhibition is one that boldly shines a light on the
thinking processes of artists and offers a special insight into
the contemporary art world of Europe today.